OPINION: Manpower crunch? So why we need 5 shopping malls in Jurong alone?

The Alternative View Facebook, 7 Oct 2014


After rolling out the Pioneer Package which in reality provides very limited real financial help, Lee Hsien Loong has been harping on the manpower shortage and how the PAP government intends to help the SMEs.
If there is indeed a manpower shortage, why are we seeing a mushrooming of shopping malls particularly in Jurong? Why do we need 5 mega malls in Jurong when they all sell the same things?
Aren't these commercial malls taking away much needed manpower resources from the SMEs?

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Foreign Talent Policy has contributed to greater income inequality, expert panel warns in 2012

lkyspp.nus.edu.sg


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Ministry of Manpower returned passports to 40 Thai students cheated by local HR companies after intervention by Thai government

Pattaya Mail, 15 Jun 2014
The Singaporean government on Friday returned passports to some 40 Thai students who were cheated by manpower firms in that country, said Pravit Khiengpol, director-general of the Thai Labour Ministry’s Employment Department.
The return of confiscated passports came after nearly 30 Thai students lodged a complaint with the Crime Suppression Division in Bangkok that they were lured by recruitment agencies which had displayed advertisements on a website and on Facebook that Thai students could receive training at famous hotels, restaurants and clubhouses in Singapore.
After working in Singapore for a while, the Singaporean authorities made random inspections and found that the documents allowing them to be trainees were forged.
Their passports were confiscated by the Singaporean authorities while many were asked to become witnesses by Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower.
Officials of Thailand's Employment Department said later that about 40 Thai students were still stranded in Singapore. Full story

Tan Chuan-Jin spending millions to hire internet marketing companies to get more traffic for MOM website

FutureGov Asia, 12 Jun 2014
Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower (MOM) is looking to hire internet marketing firms to boost visits to its websites and help it engage with citizens through social media, it emerged today.
The ministry will ask firms to shortlist at least 50 websites not owned by the government which it can advertise on, and wants a set of keywords to ensure that its material appears more prominently in search results.
The campaign is intended to raise awareness of its existing social media channels, and boost visits to its workwise.sg website (pictured). Full story

PM Lee admits simultaneous release of public construction projects are fuelling the need for more foreign construction workers

Question: Lack of foresight?


Yahoo! News Singapore, 29 May 2014
Singapore said Wednesday it would defer about Sg$2 billion ($1.6 billion) worth of government infrastructure projects to slow the intake of migrant labourers amid public concern over immigration in the city-state.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong told parliament the move was part of measures to limit the inflow of foreign workers to "a level which is sustainable and which we can physically accommodate in Singapore in the long term".
"The private sector, they make their decisions," Lee said.
But "the government, we are a significant part of the construction business, and we ask ourselves which government projects need to be built (and) which projects can be deferred," he said. Full story

Related:
PM Lee admits govt lacked foresight - Hardwarezone Forum

VIDEO: Indian foreign worker caught on camera molesting a woman commuter in MRT train

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Post by Jay Slacker.

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Snapshot: Domestic maid places elderly lady in wheelchair to face the wall while she frolics with Indian foreign worker at void deck

Stomp.com.sg, 17 May 2014

"This incident happened at the void deck of Block 122 Geylang East Central on May 13, Tuesday, at 1.10pm.
"I believe the helper was supposed to take care of the elderly person who was seated in the wheel chair.
"Apparently, she is seen behaving intimately with a man, ignoring the elderly who was left in the wheel chair for more than an hour.

Full story

Newly-promoted minister Tan Chuan-Jin plans to relocate foreign workers away from the city to suburb residential estates

MSN Malaysia News, 5 May 2014
The multi-million dollar centres are the latest in a series of government measures to better manage areas where foreign workers congregate after the rampage by South Asian labourers on December 8 injured 39 people and saw 25 vehicles destroyed.
Minister of Manpower Tan Chuan-Jin had first announced the new centres in January, in the aftermath of the Little India riot, which sharply brought into focus the way the wealthy city-state manages its nearly one million low-paid foreign workers.
Singapore has a total population of 5.4 million, but only 3.84 million are citizens and permanent residents.
The congested nature of the Little India riot zone was identified early on as a reason why the situation spiralled out of control, along with the likelihood that the rioters were drunk. Full story

Related:
Singapore eyes more suburb centers for migrant workers - Interaksyon.com

OPINION: MOM director Kevin Teoh's incredible claims about how well migrant workers are treated by the ministry

Yawningbread.wordpress.com, 24 Mar 2014
A divisional director from the Manpower ministry gave testimony last week at the Committee of Inquiry looking into the Little India riot. Based on a report in the Straits Times, his statements more than support a view that I have long held: there is a strong tendency in this government to confuse theory with practice. There is unwarranted faith in policy papers penned in cloisters. Either there is naive ignorance of the shameful reality out there, or a resistance to unearth empirical facts, or both.
There are four arguments made by Kevin Teoh, divisional director of the Ministry of Manpower’s (MOM’s) foreign manpower management division, which are egregiously off the mark. They show beliefs that are detached from reality.
1. There are no abandoned foreign workers;
2. Out-of-work foreign workers can seek alternative employment (subject to permission);
3. MOM has ensured that foreign workers all know their rights;
4. Untrue that workers are forcibly repatriated.

Full story

OPINION: Another crises brewing in Little India - Kanchan Srivastava

Dnaindia.com, 28 Feb 2014
Today, the only public place of South Asian workers has lost its charm as workers remain confined to their dormitories on weekends now. The dissent though increasing, is not visible yet.
The workers have other constraints as well. An average construction worker earns 500-600 Singapore Dollars a month and a supervisor gets 1,000 SGD. The wages are better when compared to what labourers and supervisors earn in India but far less than what Singapore locals get. Only a year ago, Chinese and Bangladeshi workers had protested against low wages.
Their living conditions are poor. Many spend nights in the same shop or hotel where they work due to a shortage of decent dormitories. Full story

COI Chairman chastise Singapore police for poor judgement in handling of Little India riot, letting 25 rioters dominate the ground while 100 police officers stand and watch

Hardwarezone Forum, 24 Feb 2014

The police were accused of "poor judgment" yesterday, with the Committee of Inquiry (COI) saying the Little India rioters "had full freedom to do what they wanted". Committee chairman G. Pannir Selvam told Deputy Commissioner of Police T. Raja Kumar - the Acting Commissioner on Dec8 - that police strategy, coordination and action that night had been found wanting.

A decision was made by Deputy Assistant Commissioner (DAC) Lu Yeow Lim, commander of Tanglin Police Division, for officers stationed at roads around the scene to "hold the ground" and contain the rioters until Special Operations Command (SOC) troops arrived.
But Mr Selvam said this gave the mob "a good protected area" where they could destroy government property with impunity. The former Supreme Court judge also pointed out that there were over 100 police officers along Race Course Road that night and only about 25 active rioters.
Deputy Commissioner of Police T. Raja Kumar admitted the force had learnt lessons from the riot in Little India.

Mr Raja Kumar explained that it was "a matter of judgment" by ground DAC Lu, who had decided there were not enough officers at that point to "dominate the ground".

But the retired judge hit back: "It was poor judgment."Full story

25 foreign workers jailed for using forged academic certificates to obtain for work passes

Staffindustry.com, 21 Feb 2014
Prison sentences of between four and 12 weeks have been handed down to 25 foreign workers in Singapore for forging academic certificates in order to obtain work passes for Singapore, reports channelnewsasia.com.

The 21 men and four women have all plead guilty to the charges. Most of the workers were from Myanmar (16), seven were from India, and two from the Philippines.

Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said the forged academic certificates were submitted to the Controller of Work Passes, which is an offence under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act.
The accused persons obtained forged academic certificates in their home countries. They used the certificates to apply for work passes between 2 November 2012 and 7 June 2013.
MOM said based on the false information submitted, the accused persons were issued 20 S Passes, for semi-skilled workers, and five Employment Passes, for professionals. Full story

Related:

1. Manila's forgers graduate with honors from 'Recto University' - CNN.com
2. Educational Frauds In India : Fake Universities And Forged Degree Certificates - Mapsofindia.com

India wants Singapore banks to install money remittance kiosks at dormitories housing Indian workers

Bloomberg, 18 Feb 2014
The Indian High Commission has asked banks operating in Singapore to set up money-remittance kiosks at workers’ dormitories after a riot in the Little India district led to restrictions in the area.
The high commission in Singapore said workers requested more of these machines smaller than the size of automated teller machines following visits to dormitories in the past few months. Most workers now brave the crowds on Sundays in Little India, where Singapore’s first riot in more than four decades took place on Dec. 8, to send funds back home on their days off.   Full story

Related:
India seeks more bank remittance kiosks in Singapore after riot - Livemint.com

OPINION: New Singapore Law Will Not Keep Peace in Little India - Sri Ranjini Mei Hua Raman

The Diplomat, 16 Feb 2014
A recent bill introduced in Singapore will give police in the Little India district the authority to strip search foreign workers in order to prevent unruly behavior set off by excessive alcohol consumption. This bill comes as a response to the December 8 riot in Little India, which was triggered by the death of a construction worker from India, who was hit by a private bus. Since the incident, the bus driver, a Singaporean, had been arrested and charged with causing death by a negligent act. He is currently out on bail.
The riot attracted significant international attention, and sparked debate on the integration—or lack thereof—of low-wage foreign labor in the wealthy city-state. In Singapore itself, portrayal of the riot by the government and the media has been one-sided. For instance, few, if any media interviews were conducted with foreign workers in Little India following the riot. A survey commissioned by the government of about 150 departing foreign construction workers last year suggest the majority were satisfied with their overall working experience. However, the reliability of the survey is questionable, given they were conducted by a government that has wide discretionary powers to revoke re-entry permits and deport without prosecution. Full story

Singapore firms hire thugs from repatriation companies to forcefully repartriate overstaying migrant workers - report

What is Acting Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-Jin going to do about these repatriation companies and the firms hiring them?

Fox News, 16 Feb 2014
Singapore needs foreign workers, but it doesn't want them to overstay their welcome, and firms get fined when they do. That has created a market for "repatriation companies," which deny allegations from activists and the United States that they use illegal tactics to expel foreign workers.
After more than year in the job, Jakir said he was taken to a repatriation company's office in August 2012 because his employer wanted him out of the country before his contract expired. He wasn't given a reason, but suspects it was because they thought he was disruptive on account of his assertiveness in pressing for more working hours.
Once inside the office, he was asked to sign a document by three "big gangsters" stating that his employers didn't owe him any salary arrears. He refused because he figured doing so would make it easier for them to repatriate him. He then alleges he was punched and had "a knife put to his neck." Jakir was able to call a friend, who in turn contacted migrant rights activist Jolovan Wham. Full story

Related:

1. Migrants Say Firms Force Workers out of Singapore - ABC News
2. Migrants say firms force workers out of Singapore - Yahoo! News Singapore
3. Migrants say firms force workers out of Singapore - Appealdemocrat.com

IT professional wanted by "well-established" company in Singapore, but only Filipino and Myanmar nationals can apply

Gumtree.com.sg

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More than 20 Burmese workers detained after clashes with Chinese co-workers

Thai PBS English News, 1 Feb 2014
More than 20 Burmese workers have been detained and are under investigation after a clash with Chinese men at a work site of the Myanmar-China oil pipeline in the country’s western Arakan State, according to police.
State-owned newspapers on Wednesday reported the incident, saying that Burmese and Chinese workers living in the same house fought after Chinese workers poured water from an upstairs window and got their Burmese colleagues wet. Other reports have said the Burmese workers believed the Chinese had urinated on them.
State media said the angered Burmese workers threw stones at the house and burnt down a warehouse. Full story

Singapore government to bring in at least 200 Filipino construction workers every month starting mid-2014

XIN MSN News, 1 Feb 2014
he first group of 15 construction workers from the Philippines is expected to arrive in Singapore next month.
These workers obtained their skills certification after completing training and tests at the new Overseas Testing Centre (OTC) in the Philippines.
Singapore targets to bring in some 200 Filipino construction workers a month when all four testing centres are operational by the middle of this year. Full story

Singapore government cries foul over NYT editorial on 'Singapore's angry migrant foreign workers'

Yahoo! News Singapore, 14 Jan 2014
Singapore has released a strongly worded statement to the New York Times over an editorial it published last month entitled "Singapore's angry migrant foreign workers".
The statement, which was undersigned by Singapore ambassador to the United States, Ashok Mirpuri, took issue with the editorial which claimed December's Little India riot was caused by the frustration of migrant workers in Singapore over wages and living conditions. Full story

Related:
Singapore’s Angry Migrant Workers - The New York Times

Indian foreign worker molested 4 women in 10 mins at Compassvale supermarket

The New Paper, 6 Jan 2014
Within the span of 10 minutes, construction worker Ramachandran Balamurugan had molested the four women by stroking their buttocks, thighs and private parts.
According to court documents, he molested the women, aged between 22 to 51, between 10.30am and 10.40am on Nov 17. Full story

Related:
PM: S’poreans commit more crimes than foreign workers - TR Emeritus